Stef Chura teams up with Will Toledo for new single 'Degrees'

The Car Seat Headrest man plays bass, organ and produces

Last year Detroit DIY artist Stef Chura released her great debut album Messes, opening her up to a whole new audience outside of her home city. She'll next be releasing a special 7" for Record Store Day, which features the new song 'Degrees', recorded in Chicago with Car Seat Headrest leader Will Toledo.

Chura explains the history of their friendship and how the recording came about:

"I met Will Toledo in 2016 when we did some touring together with Car Seat Headrest. We chatted at the Empty Bottle in Chicago at our first show and he told me that he found my music on Tumblr via an article that compared us to each other. He invited us on a couple of tours that year before Messes was out and before we had a label or booking agent or release plans or any “stuff.” In May of 2017 we ran into each other again at the Empty Bottle. Will was mixing Twin Fantasy and came out to our gig there with the engineer he’d been working with. He invited us to the studio to check out the record the next day. When we stopped by Will had finished mixing early and asked us if we had anything going on recording-wise. I said I have a couple of songs that got cut from Messes I want to record for a 7-inch and he was like "Cool, wanna record them right now? I'll play bass.”

While it might be Toledo's name that attracts many people to the song, this is Stef Chura's show. 'Degrees' shows off the dynamism in her songwriting better than ever, slithering through seductive verses before launching into a massive chorus worthy of 90s alt-rock greats like Hole or Nirvana. Here Chura shows off both her hair-raising guitar theatrics and nerve shredding vocal skills, before floating gracefully back down to Earth again. It's honestly a massive surprise that 'Degrees' didn't make the cut for Messes, and if Chura has more of these gems in her locker then the next album is one to get prematurely excited for.

'Degrees' will be coming out through Saddle Creek on 7" for Record Store Day with the b-side 'Honey', but the track is available on all streaming platforms now.